Hello fellow bloggers!

Last Wednesday, my class visited a Kindergarten class at George Jay Elementary.  To say the least, I learned so much about what being a teacher really is about.

Rebecca Bathurst-Hunt welcomed my classroom into hers from 3:30-4:30. She talked about her “teacher heart”, her inquiry based approach, and potential resources us future teachers may want to use. She allowed us to walk around her classroom and observe the many details her classroom has. I was quite overwhelmed, as there was SO many resources in her classrooms for her students to use and I was wondering how she got all of these resources. During the Q&A part of the meeting, I asked her how her classroom has changed and evolved compared to her first year teaching. She stated that not only has her classroom changed from her first year teaching, but her classroom has changed from the beginning of this current school year. This allowed me to put things into perspective; it is ok for me to not have all of these resources into my classroom when I begin teaching.

I really enjoyed hearing about her inquiry based approach. I had NO idea how a Kindergarten class would be based off of an inquiry based approach. After this visit, my thoughts are cleared up a little. She allows her students to pick what they want to research. Her classroom is really into dinosaurs right now, and so they are researching on all aspects of dinosaurs. Not all inquiries are free. For the first part of the year, she guided the inquiry based off of animal needs. I find this so interesting. The students are involved, engaged, and determined to learn; what more can a teacher ask for?

Rebecca is an organized, smart, and creative teacher. I would love to be like her when I become a teacher!